Posted on July 22nd, 2010 by TomC
The tenth and final round of the Rentokil Manx Fell League takes place on Saturday 31st July. The Sean Craig sponsored North Barrule Fell Race is held over an extremely tough out and back 3.5mls course that starts and finishes at Ballure Reservoir. Start time is 2.00pm with registration from 1.00pm. Minimum age is 14 years on race day.
Competitors safety equipment will be subject to weather conditions.
More details here
Filed under: North Barrule | No Comments »
Posted on July 19th, 2010 by TomC
Report by Rob Sellors
The closing stages of Saturday’s penultimate fell race in this season’s league provided an exciting dual between Manx Harrier’s Nigel Armstrong and MFR’s current champion, Simon Skillicorn. In the final mile of the 8.5 mile James Coulson Laxey Fell Race through Glen Roy, Skillicorn and Armstrong battled it out with the latter pulling away from his rival and crossing the line 8 seconds ahead at the finish.
Ian Gale also made light work of the 2,200 feet of ascent course making considerable gains on Tom Cringle in the latter stages and finally taking a well earned third place, almost a minute and a half before Cringle. Peter Bradley made a creditable fifth place, in spite of having to return to the start after the first quarter of a mile into the race, to retrieve his bum-bag which he had left behind. Rob Sellors and Paul Sykes battled it out for sixth place with the former just managing to make gains during the final descent through the flagged sections.
Taking the over 50’s title and 10th place overall, was experienced Manx Harriers runner, Dave Newton in a very impressive time of 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Of the six ladies competing, the title went to Christine O’Shea, the Western Athletics runner achieving 19th place in a very impressive time of 1 hour, 50 minutes, ahead of second place Rachel Holden and third Caroline Caren.
Conditions for the 30 runners in this race, often considered one of the most challenging of all the league races, (17 opting for the early start) were generally good, in spite of a torrential downpour moments before the main start which provided slippery and boggy conditions up the first ascent to John’s Cairn and then onward to the summit of Slieu Lhoist and then to Windy Corner. Various route choices were possible on the descent towards Snaefell mines and then back up to Cronk Y Vaare and on the day choosing good lines was a critical factor in determining final positions.
Special thanks to the hosts at Glen Roy Farm for their warm hospitality and permission to race on their land and also to the marshalls, officials and timekeepers and to those who set out the extensive flagged sections of the route.
Full race results are available here, with photos here for information about the final race of the season at North Barrule on 31st July take a look here
Filed under: James Coulson Laxey | 3 Comments »
Posted on July 16th, 2010 by TomC
The MFR vests are available now at £20 each. They will be at Laxey on Saturday, the list below are people who contacted me saying they wanted a vest, some of you have already collected yours. In addition to these allocated there are still a small number of extra vests available as well.
Peter Bradley
Tom Williams
Simon Quirk
Rob Sellors
Nev Jewell
Kevin Groom
Richard George
Peter O SheaS
Cal Partington
Richie Stevenson
Lewis Veale
Adam Denard
Rob Gillanders
Dave Griffin
Dave Young
Alan Sandford
Filed under: MFR News | 4 Comments »
Posted on July 11th, 2010 by TomC
The James Coulson Laxey Fell Race takes place on Saturday July 17th and will be based at Glen Roy Farm, Lonan.
The 8.5 miles race includes over 2,000ft of ascent and is regarded as one of the most challenging in the Manx league.
Start time is 2.00pm with a 1.30pm option for those expecting to take over 1hr 45mins. Registration is from 1.00pm.
Minimum age for this 9th counter in the Rentokil Manx Fell League is 18 years on race day and full safety gear is mandatory for all runners. There will be a kit inspection before the start.
Any runner who wishes to recce the course should avoid going on the private land sections at Ballcowin and Glen Roy Farms, these sections will be clearly marked on race day.
Route information is available here
Filed under: James Coulson Laxey | No Comments »
Posted on July 5th, 2010 by TomC
Report thanks to Rob Sellors
A decisive victory for Lloyd Taggart notched his wins to 7 in the Manx Fell runner’s league this season. In a time of 1 hour and 50 minutes, Taggart comfortably beat record holder Simon Skillicorn’s time of 2 hours and 10 seconds in the same race in 2008.
Solid performances from Ian Gale (2nd place) Simon Skillicorn (3rd) and Nigel Armstrong (4th) demonstrated their consistent form this season with close finishing times and a very creditable run also from Peter Bradley wrapped up the top five, all under the 2 and a half hour mark. Winning the ladies race today was Lorraine Stigant in just over 4 hours and taking the Veterans over 60’s prize was Dave Young in just over the 3 hours.
Conditions for the 17 runners (4 of whom opted for the early start) were diabolical in the early stages with driving southerly gales and heavy downpours, providing very difficult running conditions on this already challenging 12.5 mile route, starting at Sulby Claddagh, and then ascending up through Ohio plantation before reaching the first summit of Slieu Mannagh. The route which then descends to Block Eary followed by a punishing climb up to Snaefell summit affords many route choices and runners needed the help of map and compass to navigate in the mist.
A particularly gruelling course all round was rewarded with celebratory sunshine towards the finish as runners descended from the Mountain Box to Glen Auldyn before the final climb up to the Millennium Way track and then back through the plantation. All runners deserved congratulations for competing today, even those that managed to take several unplanned detours, including the stray runner who ended up in Ramsey and had to trudge wearily along the TT course for 5 miles back to Sulby.
A special thank you to all the marshals, timekeepers and route markers who braved the elements and supported the runners, as well as the land owners.
Full results are here
The next race, the penultimate one in this season’s calendar on 17th July at 2.00pm is the James Coulson Laxey Fell race, starting at Glen Roy Farm. For further information. please visit the MFR website here
Filed under: Narradale | 2 Comments »
